This invention relates to cooking surfaces for barbecue grills in general, and specifically to a reversible barbecue grill grate that collects cooking fluid and directs it away from the heat source of a grill.
Barbecue grills have become popular for many reasons, but principal among them is that food prepared on them acquires a distinctive flavor unobtainable by other means. This "barbecue flavor" is partly the result of gases and smoke emanating from the heat source of the grill itself, but mostly is the result of smoke and vapors caused by cooking liquids, such as barbecue sauce or other popular sauces, and meat juices falling into the heat source of the grill. It is the smoke and vapor caused by these liquids and juices burning that principally cause and enhance the barbecue flavor.
The burning of these liquids in the heat source of a grill, however, is often problematic. Food juices and cooking liquids often produce "flare-ups" or intense flames as they are ignited by the heat source. These flare-ups negatively affect the barbecue grilling experience in several ways. First, the increased heat from the flare-ups makes it difficult to evenly cook the food on the grill, and often results in charring of the food on the outside while the inside is not fully cooked. This difficulty is heightened when the barbecuer engages in firefighting as well as cooking. Second, the increased heat from the flare-up often produces more food juices, which, in turn, increases the intensity of the flare-up. This can and often does result in an uncomfortable and dangerous situation to the barbecuer and to those around the grill. Third and finally, flareups considerably increase the amount of work required in barbecuing, as the increased and uneven heat of the flare-ups necessitates greater handling of the food on the grill to avoid severely burning it. The increased workload combined with the increased heat generated from flare-ups substantially detracts from the barbecue experience.
Furthermore, frequent flare-ups may reduce the lifespan of the grill. The excess heat and residue from the flare-ups may accelerate the decomposition of the burners and the corrosion of the shell housing. The excess heat of flare-ups may also compromise the lifespan of accessories such as grill rotisseries located over the grill grates and shelves located along the sides of the grill.
The barbecue grill cooking racks and grill plates of the prior art are ill-equipped to counter the problem of flare-ups, and often contribute to them, because they provide unregulated access of cooking juices and liquids to the heat source of the grill. Still other grates in the prior art are of one piece construction, such as molded or cast aluminum or steel, which makes them suitable for indirect heating but which also makes them relatively expensive. Furthermore, if these grates become damaged, rusted, or break they are not economically repairable. Instead, a complete new grate must be obtained, at not insubstantial expense.